Photography thread

[st13phil]

If I had a proper camera It would never get used!

There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.

 

[Dryce]

There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.

When I travel I can end up carry about 6 or 7 kg of camera gear in my cabin baggage - typically two bodies and four lenses.

That's quite a chunk of weight / hassle commitment over and above a decent phone. I'll typically carry 2 to 3 kg in a smaller bag when actually out and about on a casual basis. I don't carry this kit all the time - but I do carry my phone all the time. When out with people and wanting to take social photos then phones are less intrusive.

Whether that weight / hassle commitment is worth it over a phone is increasingly debatable. It depends on the results you are looking for and your subject. Phones don't do telephoto stuff well - and they have to play tricks to get good low light shots. But when the tricks work - or when the shots fit the phone's underlying strengths then they are astonishingly good.

I think the quality of phones has had an impact on the DSLR / mirrorless camera market. 15 to 20 years ago there were cheaper SLRs, DSLRs, and early mirrorless cameras. These have faded. Cheap 'kit' zoom lenses associated with that market have pretty much faded. Lenses sold today are typically bigger and heavy. This is in part down to the camera bodies and sensors demanding better lenses - but also differentiation - there's no point in mounting a cheap lens on a camera because phones can reach the equivalent usable quality in many conditions. So phones effectively wiped out traditional compact cameras through being ubiquitous and good enough - and they've chiselled out the middle zone of the market meaning leaving increasingly higher high end sitting above.




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[st13phil]

But when the tricks work - or when the shots fit the phone's underlying strengths then they are astonishingly good.

^ This is the most important bit about phone photography: accepting that certain types of shot suit phone cameras much better than others, and playing to those strengths.

 

[Dryce]

^ This is the most important bit about phone photography: accepting that certain types of shot suit phone cameras much better than others, and playing to those strengths.

The use of multiple cameras and lenses in phones is a brute force way of extending their operating range - and we're now seeing the prism/mirror based telephoto setups where the 'longer' zoom lens is in effect placed side ways in the phone. (Minolta had a tiny compact camera over 20 years ago which had a compact zoom internally using a similar principle - the Dimage X).

One aspect that is often forgotten about when it comes to what phones can or cannot do - is light and time. Professional level video and photography often involves lighting and reflectors - or involves spending time at a location. So as an example phones can take great video - but to really compete with professional grade vide work you need to carry other equipment - it's not just about the camera. The top landscape photographs are often about taking the effort to be in the right place at the right time and being prepared to wait as conditions change - or return several times. Once you factor in this additional overhead of kit and/or effort then committing it to 'just' a phone is less attractive.

 

[BTB 500]

There's an old adage amongst photographers that the best camera is the one you have with you.

I do have a DSLR, but the vast majority of the time I use my iPhone 14 Pro to take photos. That's because I'm always carrying it, and the results are generally very pleasing. But while it's very good, there's no substitute for a "proper" camera equipped with good lenses for so many things including motorsport, aviation and general sports photography or any time you need full control over the exposure and/or depth of field.

Absolutely.

I've always had a 'go everywhere with me' camera, which in 35mm times was a tiny Olympus XA rangefinder compact with a small screw-on flash. Then high quality digital compacts - currently (still) a Sony RX100 II. This is increasingly redundant nowadays as I always choose phones with a good quality camera (currently a Google Pixel 7a), which are even more portable and well suited to general snapping.

Any kind of compact camera (including the one on a phone) is next to useless for the specialised cases you mention ... for me mostly animals and aviation. I only use one lens on my current Canon R6 - a 100-500 zoom. One thing I love about the R6 is the ability to manually set both the shutter speed and aperture to suit what I'm doing and have the camera vary the ISO rating as required to maintain the exposure.

 

[Steveml63]

Hi
A few photos from our trip to Armenia this week.

Above is a view of Mt. Ararat (famous for being the resting place of Noah’s arc). In the foreground is an ancient monastery called Khor Virap


Above three photos are in the centre of Yerevan
It snowed this evening.
All these photos were taken with my iPhone 14
Cheers
Steve

 

[SmartAmg]

Brilliant pics!

 

[BTB 500]

Sunset while out competing with the dogs on Saturday evening. Unedited - straight from camera.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Sure I live in the mild South.....but cherry blossom out on 24th December!

 

[GeeJayW]

Sure I live in the mild South.....but cherry blossom out on 24th December!
View attachment 151066

Climate change….

 

[keith of kent]

Not December

 

[MissyD]

 

[Steveml63]

Hi,
I am in India this week - Kolkata
Below is a photo of the Hindustan Ambassador taxis that were still being made up until about 2014.
This is outside a famous Kolkata biryani restarant!

Cheers
Steve

 

[ALFAitalia]

Pagham Habour last Friday evening... Will be there again in about an hour.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Pagham Habour last Friday evening... Will be there again in about an hour.
View attachment 152752

Crying out for radio controlled boat action - or a r/c sea plane!

 

[PXW]

Studland Bay earlier this week. Lovely to have it pretty much to myself

 

[Steveml63]

Hi,
We visited the newly opened BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi yesterday afternoon.
The inside is all hand carved white marble pillars, domes, ceilings etc.
The outside is all hand carved sandstone from Jaipur in India.
The workmanship is mind blowing!


Cheers
Steve

 

[SmartAmg]

Hi,
We visited the newly opened BAPS Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi yesterday afternoon.
The inside is all hand carved white marble pillars, domes, ceilings etc.
The outside is all hand carved sandstone from Jaipur in India.
The workmanship is mind blowing!

View attachment 153398View attachment 153399View attachment 153400View attachment 153401View attachment 153402View attachment 153403View attachment 153404View attachment 153405
Cheers
Steve

WOW!

 

[badgx]

Looks amazing

 

[Dryce]

WOW!

Looks amazing

Agreed. Stunning.